Shawn Smalley retired earlier this year after 20 years with Montana Highway Patrol. He attained the rank of sergeant and was the supervisor for Mineral and Sanders counties while raising his family in Superior for almost 19 of those years.

 On Friday, Dec. 27, Smalley was sworn in as the newest commissioner of Mineral County. 

“The interesting thing is that where I’m at right now is that I’ve seen a lot of the front side of this and now it’s going to be learning the back side of the job, which is something I’m looking forward to,” Smalley said. 

Since his retirement, Smalley has been at the weekly commissioner meetings almost every Friday watching and listening to the interaction between the elected officials and residents while learning of issues that he’ll become much more involved in.  

“I’ve been trying to keep a good dialog going with the Treasurer and the Clerk and Recorders Office as I see these departments having information and answers to questions that will be coming up.” 

He said he understands that everything that he is looking at is not his decision but a conversation with the other commissioners and with the public. Technology efficiency is something he’d like to explore because he thinks there might be some cost savings for the county. He also stated that the county has made better investments with the new investment company. 

Smalley is also aware of the needs of nonprofits that are critical to the residents of the county such as the Mineral County Food Bank and the Superior Senior Citizens Center as they plan for the future.  

One item Smalley campaigned on was a discussion on adjusting the weekly meeting to an afternoon rather than morning. That might even be an agenda item for discussion on Jan. 3. (Agendas will continue to be posted on the county’s website at least 48 hours before the meetings).

Smalley replaces Dawn Terrill who was appointed to the commissioner position when Laurie Johnston resigned in 2022. 

said, “I’ve been blessed by God to serve my community, and I want to thank this community for supporting me over the years. It was an honor to serve, and I do wish Shawn the best of luck.” 

Terrill then added, “I would also like to thank my campaign team for having true class.”

“Dawn made some good changes when she got on board,” said Roman Zylawy, Mineral County Commissioner. “She made us more professional, if you will, and made us more organized. We all got along. We didn’t vote the same way but we could joke and laugh and interact without any hard feelings or animosity.” 

The other county commissioner, Duane Simons said, “On average, we only meet once a week, and you got to get stuff done. You have to communicate. You have to be able to talk to each other or nothing is going to happen. Yep, she deserves a big thank you from a lot of us.” 

The next commissioners meeting will be Friday, Jan. 3 at 10:10 a.m. in the County Commissioner’s Conference Room.

    The family of Shawn Smalley (back row, second from left) attended his swearing in as the newest commissioner for Mineral County on Friday, December 27. Smalley replaces Dawn Terrill who has appointed to her position in 2022.